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With 17 games left in the regular season, the Knights didn’t have to be in a four-team battle for fourth place in the OHL Western Conference.

If the Knights had gone about their business with the roster they’d constructed before Christmas, chances are they would be chasing the Kitchener Rangers for first place in the Midwest Division and the No. 2 seed for the playoffs.

But the reality was they didn’t believe they could get out of the Western Conference, not with Sault Ste. Marie sitting there.

So they went about their well-publicized sell-off at the trade deadline, bringing in what hopefully is good young talent, some draft picks and as a result immersing themselves in a battle for fourth.

The question being asked was why?

The answer is the future and players like Liam Foudy.

If you don’t think you can win with the veterans you have, you have to find out if your young players can play. The Knights had a handful of young players who hadn’t shown much. They weren’t going to get much of a look at them if they kept players like Max Jones, Robert Thomas and Cliff Pu.

Foudy is one of those players. He was given a chance at the start of the year to show something. He didn’t. He was given a second chance during the second half of the season.

“He’s been playing really well. His point totals are coming up and he could have had a lot more with the chances he’s had,” Knights general manager Rob Simpson said. “I think once the trade deadline was done and he got a little more ice time and got his confidence, then he started feeling good about himself, goes to the prospects game and does really well there and he’s turned the corner. Now you are seeing his speed and his skill come out and he’s doing it more consistently.”

Foudy was the Knights first pick in the 2016 OHL draft. He’s a tremendous skater but shift after shift had little to show for his efforts.

But since the ice time increased so has his confidence and instead of empty shifts, he’s beginning to generate action on the ice. It’s the kind of ice time that includes time on special teams.

“With the more ice I’m getting I definitely feel I’m playing much better,” Foudy said. “It’s always been that the more ice I get the better I play usually and now it’s starting to show.”

Foudy was considered one of the group of high draft choices the Knights have made in recent years who have not made a significant impact. Foudy simply doesn’t worry about any of that.

“I try not to listen to outside noise,” he said. “I just show up and play my game like I always have. If you start thinking about negative thoughts and things don’t start going your way, you can get negative on yourself. When you don’t think about that and stay positive, that’s when things start to go better and that’s what’s happening now.”

It’s all about being confident.

“It’s huge,” he said. “I didn’t get a lot of ice time to start. We had a lot of big-time NHL guys here and now that they are all gone, everyone’s role increased a lot. We have to step up and fill that role and having (head coach Dale Hunter) trust to fill that role that feels nice.”

In years gone by, the Knights have been involved in pressure-filled games down the stretch, looking to finish first in the conference. The final 17 games will see the Knights taking part in pressure-filled games looking to finish fourth and earn home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

That too doesn’t bother Foudy.

“No I don’t watch the scoreboard,” he said with a laugh. “I try not to anyway. I don’t want anything to get into my head. I just want to go out and win the game.”